Assessing Prevalence and Factors Related to Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Multinomial Logistic Analysis

Abstract

Frailty is an age-related clinical condition that typically involves a deterioration in the physiological capacity of various organ systems and heightens the patient’s susceptibility to stressors. For this reason, one of the main research goals currently being addressed is that of characterising the impact of frailty in different settings. The main aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Fried’s frailty phenotype among community-dwelling older people and to analyse the factors associated with frailty. In this research study, 582 persons aged 65 years or more participated in this cross-sectional study that was conducted at primary healthcare centres in Málaga, Spain. Sociodemographic, clinical, functional and comprehensive drug therapy data were compiled. The relationship between the independent variables and the different states of frailty was analysed by using a multinomial logistic regression model. Frailty was present in 24.1% of the study sample (95% CI = 20.7–27.6) of whom 54.3% were found to be pre-frail and 21.6% were non-frail. The study variable most strongly associated with frailty was the female gender (OR = 20.54, 95% CI = 9.10–46.3). Other factors found to be associated with the state of frailty included age, dependence for the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), polymedication, osteoarticular pathology and psychopathology. This study confirms the high prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling older people. Frailty may be associated with many factors. Some of these associated factors may be preventable or modifiable and, thus, provide clinically relevant targets for intervention. This is particularly the case for depressive symptoms, the clinical control of osteoarthritis and the use of polypharmacy.

Prevalence and Clinical Conditions Related to Sarcopaenia among Older Persons Living in the Community

“…However, some evidence of a relationship with depression has also been observed, but this association appears to be weaker and is less commonly reported [45][46][47]. An association has also been reported between mental pathology and frailty [48,49]. It has been observed that persons with a psychopathology tend to be less physically active, to have a less active social life, and to consume a less healthy diet, and that any or all of these factors could be related to a loss of strength and muscle mass.…”

Association of preoperative functional disability with chronic postsurgical pain: A prospective observational study

“…Although few reports have investigated the relationship between functional disability measured using the WHODAS 2.0 and frailty instruments, 12‐item WHODAS 2.0 scores moderately correlated with activities of daily living in outpatients and surgical patients (Fujiwara et al, 2021; Ida et al, 2017). Considering the association between frailty and activities of daily living, functional disability and frailty also seemed to be closely related (Blanco‐Reina et al, 2021; Fried et al, 2004). As a result, functional disability and CPSP may also influence each other (Fujiwara, Ida, Watanabe, et al, 2021).…”

Identifying Frailty in Thermal/Spa Clinical Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Indeed, that meta-analysis ( 19) found a frailty prevalence of 51.5% and 29.8% among nursing home residents aged in average 86 years-old and hospital patients aged in average 80 years, respectively. The high prevalence of frailty may be explained by the high prevalence of osteo-articular (8)(9)(10)(11) and musculoskeletal (20) conditions in thermal/spa populations, given the important associations of osteo-muscular conditions and frailty (14)(15)(16)21). However, we cannot exclude the possibility that our findings on frailty prevalence was partly influenced by the assessment tool used, which was composed of subjectively measured criteria/items focusing mostly on mobility-related aspects (eg, mobility difficulties, climbing stairs, walking briskly); mobility is often impaired in people with osteo-articular and musculoskeletal diseases.…”

“…Improvements in joint pain and function after balneotherapy may be mediated by its potential anti-inflammatory effects (12,13). Osteoarticular diseases, which are very prevalent in older patients receiving thermal/spa treatments, are often associated to frailty in old adulthood (14)(15)(16). However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has examined the prevalence of frailty in patients receiving thermal/spa therapy.…”